George Zimmerman: A History Of Arrests And Workplace Violence Emerges

By Saturday, investigative reporting has turned up some more new unflattering information about George Zimmerman, the 28 year old neighborhood watchman who shot an unarmed 17 African-American boy which has captured the public headline news the last few days. According to his former co-workers, Zimmerman was fired from a security job providing security for house parties after he grabbed an intoxicated young woman and threw her. According to at least one of these co-workers, Zimmerman also had a “Jekyll and Hyde” personality, where he could be entirely decent one moment, but prone to violence the next.

Even more damning was the report that Zimmerman actually had three separate prior arrests, but these arrests were sealed by the courts. It also turns out that Zimmerman’s father, Frank Zimmerman, was a retired Orange County magistrate judge, which brings up the question whether he used his influence somehow to get these arrest records sealed. If these arrest records weren’t sealed, then it might have kept Zimmerman from acquiring a gun by passing a background check.

Further damning evidence against Zimmerman was a videotape acquired by CBS of Zimmerman at a police station in handcuffs after the shooting where he showed no evidence of being assaulted by Trayvon Martin. There didn’t appear to be any injury to the back of the head, cut lip or broken nose that Zimmerman and his defenders had claimed. Further, a mortician didn’t find any evidence that Trayvon Martin had been in a fight when he was preparing his body, only the fatal bullet wound to his chest. All of this strongly suggests that Zimmerman has lied about his account of the events.

Former co-workers of Zimmerman before he was fired from his security job claimed that Zimmerman liked power over people and enjoyed ordering people around. He like to play cop was the bottom line. But, his history of unacceptable violent incidents got him fired from that security job.

More and more the image of some screwball who liked guns and wanted to play a cop is emerging. But, it appears that Zimmerman lacked both the self control and possibly even the mental health to be in possession of a gun. Zimmerman was told not to follow Trayvon Martin by a 911 operator, and certainly not to leave his SUV and pursue someone he only thought was potentially suspicious. Apparently, Zimmerman had no reason to believe that Martin had committed any crime, but instead didn’t recognize him as a neighborhood youth.

Even former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the brother of the former president, George W. Bush, has publicly claimed that when he signed Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, meant just that. To “stand your ground”, and not to “pursue” and shoot someone.

Smart money would suggest that Zimmerman probably gets charged by a prosecutor at some point after an investigation. Further, it was highly unusual for Zimmerman to hire a lawyer right after the incident if he was a crime victim who was assaulted by Martin. Zimmerman also quickly lined up family and friends of his to publicly claim that his account of the incident was the true story. But, physical and circumstantial evidence is quickly calling into question Zimmerman’s account of the fatal shooting incident.

Voice experts now confirm that without question it was Trayvon Martin crying for help on the 911 call, and not Zimmerman moments before he was shot to death. Trayvon Martin may also have been suspended from school for having a trace of marijuana in an empty baggie, but otherwise he had no public history of arrests or violence to suggest that he was the aggressor in this incident.

Some civil rights leaders sought to make this incident into a racial incident, however George Zimmerman is the mother of a Hispanic woman, and has at least one African-American close friend who rushed to publicly defend him, strongly suggesting that this incident had little to do with race, but rather was the unfortunate act of someone who lacked good judgement and was unfit to own a gun.

Filmmaker Spike Lee had to apologize for giving out the home address of George Zimmerman in a Tweet as he seemed to be attempting to set Zimmerman up for violence. And some Websites have run pictures of Zimmerman with a gun target painted over him. The Black Panthers offered some sort of bounty to bring him to justice. But, none of this nonsense was very helpful, and only helped to complicate the effort to search for the truth in this case. Legal incidents need to addressed through the legal system, and not through the court of public opinion or emotion.

The fact that you assume the high angle video tells you anything at all or that audio “experts” can “without a doubt” say it wasn’t Zimmerman’s voice screaming really says all one needs to know about the validity of your opinion.

herddog505

Further damning evidence against Zimmerman was a videotape acquired by CBS of Zimmerman at a police station in handcuffs after the shooting where he showed no evidence of being assaulted by Trayvon Martin.

The video is of such low quality that one cannot say that for certain.

… a mortician didn’t find any evidence that Trayvon Martin had been in a fight when he was preparing his body, only the fatal bullet wound to his chest.

As I understand Zimmerman’s story, he claims that he was knocked down by Martin, who then jumped on him and started beating his head against the ground. If this story is true, then naturally Martin’s body would show no signs of having been in a struggle.

Zimmerman had no reason to believe that Martin had committed any crime, but instead didn’t recognize him as a neighborhood youth.

But WAS Martin “a neighborhood youth”? Was he not visiting his father’s fiancee’s house?

[I]t was highly unusual for Zimmerman to hire a lawyer right after the incident if he was a crime victim who was assaulted by Martin.

“Unusual” according to whom? Zimmerman had been taken in handcuffs to a police station. We may assume, therefore, that he had been arrested. Now, color me paranoid, but don’t people who’ve been arrested often call a lawyer pretty quickly?

And when DID Zimmerman hire his lawyer? Is that known for certain, or is it mere speculation that he lawyered up right after the shooting?

It also turns out that Zimmerman’s father, Frank Zimmerman, was a retired Orange County magistrate judge

Hello. Certainly early news reports may contain some reporting errors. And while both George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin have some negative aspects about their personal lives, a more disturbing personal portrait of George Zimmerman is clear. You have someone who appears to be emotionally troubled, who should not have been in possession of a gun, or attempting to play policeman in a case in which he had no suspicion that Trayvon Martin committed any crime.at all up until the point that Zimmerman violated the 911 call operators advice and not only followed Martin in his SUV, but got out, and apparently initiated some sort of confrontation in which Zimmerman pulled his gun on Martin and shot and killed him. Martin might have attempted to save his life by fighting back,but that’s a point still in question that prosecutors are no looking at.

In Oregon, Zimmerman would have at least been charged with the crime of harassment for pursuing someone, even if they committed a crime. You have to leave police work up to the police there. I’m not sure what Florida law is, but Zimmerman wasn’t a cop, yet tried to act like one. Being a neighborhood watch member, means just that. You watch for crime and then call a real policeman. .

The fact of the matter is that Zimmerman is sort of a screwball, had a gun, and badly attempted to play a policeman, where things went badly. He’s not the racist like some Al Sharpton made him up to be. It wasn’t a racial thing, it was a screwball thing from some nut who wanted to unofficially play a cop.

My best guess is that Zimmerman gets charged with a crime much less than manslaughter here, a more incidental charge for violating 911 caller’s advice, and creating a confrontation from nothing. That won’t make the hardcore civil rights advocates very happy. But law has to be applied according to the situation and the facts involved, and not what some choose to believe might have happened.

That’s just a good reading of the tea leaves, with no agenda at all here.

ravenshrike

A charge of ignoring 911’s advice? You do realize there is no law you have to follow what the people on the other end of the phone say in a 911 call right? Not to mention almost all stalking/harassment charges assume that things happen either repeatedly, or over a long period of time. This incident occurred in less than 8 minutes start to finish.

Cstmbuild

Wow, a few more leading articles like this one and you could get prompted to a real newspaper or maybe writing pices for an MSM news anchor!

All heresy, all assumptions and all DAMNING! by your opinion…i mean…well written and non-judgemental, open minded piece..of crap.